Bulgaria to stage Junior U21 Chess Championship
The Junior U21 Chess Championship will be held from September 26 to October 03, 2021 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The 9-round over-the-board event is organized by Chess club ChessBomb – Plovdiv under the auspices of FIDE and in cooperation with Bulgarian Chess Federation 1928, Plovdiv Municipality, and with the sponsorship of Club Round Table 3 Plovdiv and KIM 2003 Ltd. Schedule: September 26th, 2021 – Opening Ceremony, Round 1September 27th, 2021 – Round 2September 28th, 2021 – Rounds 3 and 4September 29th, 2021 – Round 5September 30th, 2021 – Round 6October 1st, 2021 – Round 7October 2nd, 2021 – Round 8October 3rd, 2021 – Round 9, Closing Ceremony Time control: 90 minutes per player for 40 moves plus 15 minutes until the end of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds for each move played, starting from the first. All participants of the event must be born after 31/12/1999. The registration is free for players with GM, IM, WGM, WIM titles and players with a rating above 2400. For other participants, the fee is 70 EUR. The tournament prize fund of over 20,000 EUR will be distributed among top-30 players and top-3 female players, with 10,000 EUR going to the winner of the event. Registration and payment must be submitted by September 10, 2021. Registration for the Junior U21 Round Table Chess Championship:https://chessbomb.bg/registration-u21/ For more information visit the tournament’s page: https://chessbomb.bg/wjrtocc-event/ Organizer’s contacts: Tournament DirectorKaloyan Mateevinfo@chessbomb.bg+359 877 657 701
European Union Youth Championship 2021 kicks off in Kouty nad Desnou
On Saturday, August 14th, the 19th European Union Youth Chess Championship U8, U10, U12 and U14 took off in the Hotel Dlouhe Strane in Kouty nad Desnou in the Czech Republic. Following previous successful years, the European Union Youth Chess Championship 2021, under the patronage of the European Chess Union, is organized again by Sachovy klub Svetla nad Sazavou in cooperation with the Czech Chess Federation. Boys and girls in each category play the same 9-round Swiss tournament but are ranked separately. The time control is 90 min + 30 sec increment for each move played. This prestigious event traditionally attracts many young chess talents – 104 players from 12 national federations of ECU registered this year. Due to the new travel measures in EU countries, the number of players has been reduced to 81, and the number of federations has been cut to 10. The highest-rated player of the event is Bulgarian CM Nikola Kanov (2199). For players’ parents and all chess fans, the organizers prepared an extensive program of chess and non-chess activities. Visitors in Kouty nad Desnou can watch the games in the projection hall of the Hotel Dlouhe Strane. All participants can enjoy the leisure time activities offered by the hotel, such as pool, wellness, bowling, billiard and table tennis. There is a new aquapark opened In Velke Losiny. The guests and the participants also can visit a new The Sky Walk in Dolni Morava. On Sunday, August 22nd, we will know eight new young champions of the EU for the year 2021. The champions in each category will receive laptops, whereas the 2nd and 3rd place finishers in each category will get digital chess clocks. After each round, the best game of every category will be awarded a prize. All participants will receive a memorial diploma, a medal and a t-shirt with the championship logo. Text: Zdeněk Fiala, director Sachovy klub Svetla nad Sazavou Photo: the official website Official website: https://www.chess.cz/mistrovstvi-evropske-unie/ Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr573693.aspx?lan=5&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30 Online broadcast of the category U8 Online broadcast of the category U10 Online broadcast of the category U12 Online broadcast of the category U14 Photo gallery of the championship: https://sachysvetla.rajce.idnes.cz/EUYCC_2021/ Photo gallery of the championship – players:https://sachysvetla.rajce.idnes.cz/EUYCC_2021_Players/
Hikaru Nakamura wins 2021 Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz
At the end of another thrilling day of chess, Hikaru Nakamura was crowned the champion of the 2021 Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz. The American speed demon demonstrated impressive form throughout the event and will take home $37,500.00 for his efforts. This marks Hikaru’s second victory at the Saint Rapid in Blitz since the tournament’s inception in 2017. His previous victory was in 2018. Fabiano Caruana narrowly edged out Richard Rapport to capture clear 2nd place and a nice paycheck of $25,000.00. Coming into the final day of blitz chess, Hikaru Nakamura had three goals: Win the tournament Maintain his no-loss streak Maintain his #1 spot in the world blitz ratings. Nakamura accomplished the first goal without a hitch. He clinched clear first place with 3 rounds to spare. Such a feat is incredibly impressive on its own, given the strength of the field. The second goal was a bit more challenging. Throughout the day, Hikaru found himself hanging on for dear life, especially in his games against Sam Shankland and Leinier Dominguez. However, Nakamura demonstrated amazing precision and resourcefulness to save difficult positions and stay undefeated. After nine rapid games and 18 blitz games over the course of 5 days, Nakamura did not lose a single one. Unfortunately, the final goal of keeping the top blitz rating in the world was just out of reach. Given a large number of draws, Nakamura slipped just below Magnus Carlsen in the world blitz rankings. Magnus had this to say to Hikaru on Twitter: “Congrats to world #2 rated rapid and blitz player @GMHikaru for winning the #STLRapidBlitz with a dominating, unbeaten performance!” The fight for the top places in the overall Grand Chess Tour standings is still very hotly contested. With a 4th place finish in this event, Wesley So earned 7 GCT points and leapfrogged Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to become the new tour leader with 28.3 GCT points. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov earned 4 GCT points in this event, boosting his overall score to 22.5 GCT points, barely eclipsing MVL, who now stands in third place with 22 GCT points. With the Sinquefield Cup starting on Tuesday, August 17, there are still several players who are in contention for the title of 2021 Grand Chess Tour Champion. A report from the final day of the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz would not be complete without giving huge kudos to GM Liem Le. He produced another excellent performance in the blitz portion and scored 5.5/9 on the final day. Over the last two days of blitz, Le gained 84.4 points on the live blitz rating list and now stands at #14 in the world. Despite standing in the last place after the rapid portion, Le’s epic recovery landed him in 5th place, earning a $12,500.00 paycheck. The coverage of the 2021 Sinquefield Cup will begin Tuesday, August 17 at 2:50 PM CDT with live commentaries by GM’s Yasser Seirawan, Alejandro Ramirez, and Maurice Ashley on grandchesstour.org. Watch all the action live on grandchesstour.org and Kasparovchess.com Text: IM Eric Rosen Photos: Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum Studios Credits available on Flickr. Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour#GrandChessTour#STLRapidBlitz Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club, USAAugust 10- August 16, 2021 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:Grandchesstour.orgKasparovchess.com
Decisions of 2021 2nd FIDE Council Meeting
List of FIDE Council Decisions 2021 2nd meeting 2 August 2021 CM2-2021/01 To note President’s report. CM2-2021/02 To note financial report. CM2-2021/03 To approve that the 2021 FIDE Congress be organized in the 2nd half of December 2021 (the format of the Congress -online or in person meeting — will be determined later) and to entrust the President with the right to agree on the venue with the potential organizers (if the Congress will be held in the form of an in-person meeting). CM2-2021/04 To note the report on the FIDE Handbook update. CM2-2021/05 To forward the letter from the Romanian Chess Federation regarding the Mission and Role of FIDE and Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions to the respective Commissions and request their feedback. CM2-2021/06 To welcome the intention of a creation of a Chess Federation of Benin and to follow-up its proper application for FIDE membership in due course. CM2-2021/07 To approve the preparation of bidding procedures for all major FIDE events for 2022-2023. Instruct the GSC to prepare the regulations of the relevant tournaments and submit them for approval by the Council. CM2-2021/08 To open a bidding procedure for the 2026 Chess Olympiad in December 2021. CM2-2021/09 To approve changes in the FIDE Online Chess Regulations as per Annex 5.2a. CM2-2021/10 To note the General Strategy Commission’s report. CM2-2021/11 To note the Arbiters’ Commission’s report. CM2-2021/12 To approve the recommendations of the Arbiters’ Commission on Seminars, Classification upgrades, Amendments to the FIDE lecturer list, FA norms and titles. CM2-2021/13 To note the Chess in Education Commission’s report. CM2-2021/14 To note the Events Commission’s report. CM2-2021/15 To approve the recommendations of the Events Commission on titles. CM2-2021/16 To consult with FISU when deciding on the format and dates for the proposed World Universities Championship 2022 in Paris. CM2-2021/17 To note the Commission’s for the Disabled report. CM2-2021/18 To note the first draft of the Ethics and Disciplinary Code, to collect comments of the FIDE Council members and to send draft to the National Federations for their input not later than September 15, 2021. To organize the work so that all the relevant suggestions would be collected and integrated prior to General Assembly Meeting 2021. CM2-2021/19 To approve Ms. See Swee Sie (MAS) as a new member of the EDC Fact-finding Committee. CM2-2021/20 To note the Fair Play Commission’s report. CM2-2021/21 To conceptually approve the Fair Play Commission’s proposal establishing the “fast track” principle in disciplinary fair-play penalties; to request Messrs. Rivello and Strydom to suggest an optimal implementation model in order to minimize the necessary changes in the FIDE Charter and provide proper division of powers; to prepare the necessary changes in the FIDE Charter (if any) and other regulations accordingly; to request the Athletes’ Commission’s opinion about new rules. CM2-2021/22 To note the Medical Commission’s report. CM2-2021/23 To note the Planning and Development Commission’s report and principally to support Commission’s initiatives. CM2-2021/24 To note the Rules Commission’s report. CM2-2021/25 To send the proposed changes for the FIDE Laws of Chess presented by the Rules Commission, to the Arbiters’ and Athletes’ Commissions and request their feedback. CM2-2021/26 To approve the recommendations of the Qualification Commission on titles. CM2-2021/27 To approve the Qualification Commission’s proposal in respect of amendments for the Rating and Licensing Regulations regarding rights of the Affiliated Organisations for the FIDE Ratings and Participation in the FIDE Events. CM2-2021/28 To reject appeal from Praveen Balakrishnan (USA) against the Qualification Commission’s decision in respect of his GM title application. CM2-2021/29 To note the Social Commission’s report. CM2-2021/30 To consult the Qualification Commission in respect of FIDE IDs for refugees. CM2-2021/31 To note the Systems of Pairings and Programs Commission’s report. CM2-2021/32 To note the Technical Commission’s report. CM2-2021/33 To note the Technical Commission’s proposal in respect of changes in “C.02. Standards of Chess Equipment venue for FIDE Tournaments, rate of play and tie-break regulations” and to request the Arbiters, GSC, Rules, Events, SPP and Qualification Commissions to provide their feedback. CM2-2021/34 To note the Trainers’ Commission’s report. CM2-2021/35 To approve the recommendations of the Trainers’ Commission on titles and Academies. CM2-2021/36 To approve the proposal of the Trainers’ Commission in respect of adding a clause about financial obligations to the existing regulations. CM2-2021/37 To note the Commission’s for Women’s Chess report and to study further the Commission’s proposal for year 2022 (Women in chess year). CM2-2021/38 To note the Historical Committee’s report and to start preparations in line with the proposed roadmap. CM2-2021/39 To note Continental reports. CM2-2021/40 To approve contract with World Chess in respect of FIDE Online Arena. CM2-2021/41 To approve a draft resolution in support of Ms. A. Sorokina. CM2-2021/42 To note the letter from the Polish Chess Federation in respect of Grand Chess Tour in Warsaw. CM2-2021/43 To organize the next FIDE Council meeting online at the end of October 2021.
FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2022 – Call for bids
1.1 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will hold the Women’s Candidates Tournament in the first part of 2022 (see the Tournament Regulations). 1.2 FIDE is opening a bidding procedure to invite any federation member of FIDE or any organiser approved by the national federation to host the event. 1.3 Any Applicant shall fill in the Bidding Form. A signed copy shall be submitted as e-mail messages to the FIDE Secretariat to office@fide.com from 16 August to 15 September 2021 by 23:59 Lausanne time (FIDE has a right to extend this deadline ). All the documents shall be submitted in English. Additional documents may be requested by the FIDE General Strategy Commission (GSC) for further evaluation. 1.4 Bid Evaluation Report shall be presented by GSC for approval of the FIDE Council. 1.5 Once the Organiser is granted the right to host the event, a relevant announcement shall be made on the FIDE website. FIDE Technical Delegate (FIDE TD) may be appointed at the same time to supervise the event on behalf of FIDE in consultation with GSC.